trirocket wrote:
It seems I have tried everything under the sun to get a solid good night sleep the night prior to race day. And I'm sick of it. ;) Even after 15 years of racing, I get tremendous anxiety, which prevents me from falling asleep. I'm turning and tossing and going to the bathroom tons of times all night long. Plus, I can hear my heart pound like crazy and am unable to shut off my brain, constantly thinking about the race.
What are your go-to remedies that never fail (but also without any side effects the following day)?
Being nervous and experiencing a bit of anxiety before a race is normal. But this sounds like you are experiencing more extreme anxiety levels. I think I would first ask myself what exactly is causing this anxiety? Try to pin point the issue (s) that are causing this stress and anxiety. Is it due to safety issues (fear of crashing if a triathlon or panic attacks in the swim?), fear of failure (not finishing)? Not meeting expectations/goals? Not being able to KQ? Addressing the root cause and the specific issues that are plaguing you would be my first recommendation. Racing should be fun and not cause this level of anxiety.
Also as someone else stated, the night before is not that important for sleep. I once was up the entire night when a fire alarm was pulled in the hotel we were staying at for a half marathon over a decade ago. I got zero sleep and ran a good race. I have many other examples where noise (that was out of my control) kept me up all night long and I still did well.
I do understand and have empathy. As someone who was trying to KQ for years and dedicating most of my time and resources to my goals, I had a lot on the line and felt very nervous before Ironmans. But I made peace with the fact that I might not make it and I just had to do the best with what I had out there. I also told myself that I was prepared and trained very well and had done everything possible to get to the starting line.
Best wishes. Hope you can address the root cause. Remember we are privileged to be racing and not living somewhere like Gaza. I was feeling bummed about the weather yesterday and bad road conditions for running. My husband reminded me that we are so lucky and privileged to not have real worries like displaced people around the world. He was correct in his gentle reminder :-)
Last tip would be think of racing as a celebration for all your hard work.
Death is easy....peaceful. Life is harder.